Survivor Stories

Rima’s Story

Rima is 28 years old, she is a Syrian national and has twin girls aged 7 and a son aged 3. Rima’s first husband was killed in Syria and her and her children fled to Greece where they were granted refugee status. Whilst in Greece Rima took part in a documentary, this is how she met her second husband, her perpetrator as he was filming; they married and moved to the UK where he is a resident. Within weeks of the move, her new husband started to abuse her both physically and mentally. Rima told her GP which led to police and social care involvement and a referral to Safer Places. When Rima entered our service she had three children under the age of 7 and was not in receipt of benefits, Rima does have leave to remain under the DDV concession and is entitled to benefits. We supported Rima to access these and in the interim we liaised with social care who agreed to fund a nominated amount until Rima was more financially stable. The universal credit application was made but Rima had no bank account or national insurance number to complete the claim. We supported Rima to overcome these barriers and she now awaiting her Universal Credit Award and housing benefit.

Rima’s children are awaiting confirmation of their school applications and see the health visitor regularly; Rima’s youngest child has been referred for speech therapy. Rima remains in refuge as her housing cannot progress until she receives her National Insurance number which should be through soon. Rima has reported feeling safe in refuge and will be attending the forthcoming Triple R programme. Rima has reported feeling incredibly safe in refuge, she tells us she really benefits from the support she is getting and is starting to think about her future for her and her family, in Rima’s words a future she thought she would ‘never have’.

Adaeze’s Story

Adaeze is 46 years old and has 3 sons, aged 14, 12 and 10, she is Nigerian and has definite to leave to remain but is not entitled to public funds. Adaeze lives in a privately rented property with her perpetrator, the tenancy is in his sole name. Adaeze suffered ongoing verbal abuse which continued to escalate, preceding Adaeze’s call to us her perpetrator beat her in front of the children and she was left with severe bruising and bloodshot eyes. Throughout the assault the perpetrator was telling her he wanted her dead. He was arrest and is currently on bail with conditions not to attend the home. Adaeze works in the NHS as bank staff but is now unable to work nights as she has no child-care, her perpetrator used to look after the children whilst she went to work. Adaeze expects the perpetrator to return home as soon as the bail conditions end and feels incredibly unsafe. Adaeze has approached various housing providers but as she has no recourse she has found it difficult, she is reluctant to come into refuge as she doesn’t want to interrupt her son’s education, she understands it is likely that they would have to move school.

Adaeze was supported by the outreach team to apply for the DDV concession, the Home Office have confirmed receipt of this and a biometrics residence permit has been received. The perpetrator is yet to return to the home as investigations continue and Adaeze is making good progress with accessing safe accommodation. Although uncertain about her future, Adaeze feels that she is making progress, the DDV concession is her hope that her and her family will be safe.

Sarah’s Story

Sarah is 29 years old and was living with her perpetrator, her husband of two years. After being in a relationship for some time before the marriage, the abuse began three months after the wedding date. Sarah and her husband owned several businesses together all of which were in debt as a result of the perpetrators’ financial abuse. This was not Sarah’s first abusive relationship. Throughout her childhood Sarah experienced emotional and sexual abuse from a family member, she lived with her father who was dependent on drugs and emotionally abusive. Sarah then entered into a relationship in her young twenties, this became increasingly violent and when she made the decision to leave her perpetrator raped her. Understandably, the decision to leave this relationship was incredibly difficult, as the abuse continued to escalate Sarah’s husband was sent to prison for other violence offences and criminal activity. Sarah saw this as her chance to flee, closed the businesses and sold most of her belongings to pay off the company debt. Sarah came into our refuge in early July after her perpetrator contacted her and threatened to kill her if he was ever able to find her.

When Sarah came into refuge she was suffering with PTSD and anxiety, homeless and did not have access to finances. During her stay Sarah was supported in regards to her trauma in one to one sessions and attended our Triple R programme, Sarah had never told anyone about the abuse she suffered as a child or the previous rape she was victim of but felt comfortable to disclose. We supported Sarah to attend hr GP, access mental health support and she now has a long-term therapy plan. She was supported with housing and finances; her outstanding debt issues are fully resolved, she now resides in a one bedroom flat in a safe area and has regular benefits, her rent is fully covered by housing benefit. Sarah continues to liaise with the police as some criminal justice aspects are ongoing given the complexity of her husband’s offending; she is progressing in divorcing him and is awaiting the decree nisi.

Sarah tells us that the support she received has changed her life, she feels stronger and more able to face her future. Sarah has even made the decision to start up her own beauty business again.

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Level 2 Course in Understanding Domestic Abuse - COMING SOON

The annual Crime Survey estimates that almost 2.5 Million adults experience domestic abuse each year. In addition, one in five children witness or experience domestic abuse in their childhood. Although it is often an under reported crime, with most cases of domestic abuse kept hidden. The new Domestic Abuse Act 2021 makes prosecuting domestic abuse more straightforward, and offers more protection to those who are being abused, but cases still need to be identified and responses need to be effect
Level 3 Young Person Violence Advisor (YPVA) - COMING OCT 2022

According to the Crime survey England and Wales (2015) 16-19 year olds are more at risk of domestic abuse than any other age group. The YPVA course will give you the skills to support young people experiencing abuse in their own intimate relationships.
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Our first Muddy May Challenge fundraiser was muddier than we bargained for.

Level 3 Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA)

The IDVA qualification is a Level 3 OCNLR Qualification in Domestic Abuse: Prevention and Early Intervention. The course is designed for adult professionals working with families affected by domestic abuse.
J9 Initiative

The J9 Domestic Abuse Initiative aims to raise awareness of domestic abuse and assist survivors to access support safely by training professionals and members of the community to recognise domestic abuse and respond to survivors. Once J9 trained, the J9 logo is displayed, letting survivors know that they have a safe place to access information and use a telephone to contact support services.
Level 3 Independent sexual violence advisors course (ISVA)

This is a specialists level course designed to increase the knowledge of a qualified IDVA and someone who has been supporting victims/survivors of domestic abuse and sexual abuse for over a year. This course is delivered by Safer Places and we are delighted to have Zoe Lodrick working with us to deliver day 2.
Work With Us

At Safer Places, our team are our most important resource and a real asset to us. Having a highly competent, survivor focused, experienced and resourceful team is key to delivering a high quality service. We are proud of our team and our organisational culture is really important to us. Working for Safer Places is no ordinary job. Every role in our organisation plays a part in delivering on our Mission. We work hard to create an environment that inspires and empowers staff to give their bes
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At Safer Places we have a range of training courses and qualifications available, from short 3 hour sessions to Level 3 and 4 accredited qualifications.
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Therapeutic Programmes

Triple R is Safer Places' main trauma informed Domestic Abuse Programme which has three aims: To enable victims/survivors to recognise the abuse and its impacts on them and their children. To enable them to recover from the abuse and support their children to do so. To develop resilience by building on their strengths and addressing challenges in order to build a better sustainable safe future for themselves and their families We also run a Money support programme
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Mission and Values

Vision Safer Places vision is a society where everyone lives a life free from fear and abuse
Help in a Crisis

If you or your children are in immediate danger, call the police on 999. If you are not in immediate danger and would like to talk to us about your options, call our helpline on 03301 025811. We will provide you with the support and information you need to consider your options and decide what to do to improve your safety and that of your children.